The world's greatest comfort foods

It's a cold, rainy winter day and thanks to a splash-happy Prius driver, you're soaked through to the marrow. Your company just laid off half of its task force. And look -- new wrinkles. Will this head cold ever go away? You got dumped, you got dumped, you got dumped ...

What to do now? Stuff your face, of course.

While the causes of misery might vary, one thing's for sure -- when life turns sour, most of us go for something sweet. Or savory. Or homemade.

Treats that might be gentle on our stomach, treats that might be bad for our teeth, treats that somehow, through the simple act of tasting them, instantly make us feel better.

To qualify as a true comfort food, a dish must fulfill at least two of three requirements; it has restorative properties, it has sentimental appeal, and it’s insanely delicious.

Here’s our roundup of 10 of the world's best culinary remedies for human suffering. Get your hankies out, folks -- it’s gonna be a rough ride.

Ice cream, United States

Rocky Road, Poppin' Shower, Triple Chunk -- it's all good.Think of any modern romantic comedy to come out of Hollywood; what do citizens of the United States reach for when their boyfriend leaves them for their therapist?

Delicious and nostalgic, ice cream might just be the ultimate childhood redux, bringing us back to carefree summer days and birthday parties.

Ice cream is also highly fattening, making it just the thing to give your anguish a desperate, self-destructive flavor.

If you visit a household in the United States and find a graveyard of empty ice cream pints, you know something bad has just hit the fan.

Nutella, Italy

Lay it on thick -- Nutella.Chocolate is a popular comfort food due to its all-out tastiness, electrifying sugar content and the healthy dose of feel-good alkaloids found in cocoa solids -- nature's gift to the blues.

Ferrero's hazelnut-infused chocolate spread might just be the most luscious form of chocolate ever.

Of all the Italians polled for this article, 100 percent of women cited Nutella as their go-to comfort food after a fight with their boyfriend or a miserable afternoon dealing with the Italian train system.

Slather it on bread, or -- in especially dire emergencies -- scoop it directly into your mouth with your fingers.

Chilaquiles, Mexico

If that’s so, then this heavenly blend of tortilla chips, cheese, shredded chicken, egg and steaming-hot salsa -- roja, verde, mole, whatever's on hand -- might just be the best thing to ever come out of a dumpster.

Chilaquiles are often eaten for breakfast; the fiery-hot sauce just the ticket to sop up the remnants of last night's tequila binge.

Kartoffelpuffern, Germany

Spuds, salmon and bacon -- or kartoffelpuffern to the Germans among us.In the realm of savory comfort food, the humble potato is king, cropping up regularly as an ingredient in feel-better-quick dishes like french fries, mashed potatoes, and poutine.

But it's the Germans who take the potato's feel-good properties to the next level with the decadent kartoffelpuffer: a deep-fried potato pancake topped with applesauce, or -- for ultimate bliss -- lox and crispy bacon.

If deep-fried potato doesn't make you feel better, you're just not human.

Khichdi, South Asia and Britain

Khichdi -- spreading smiles across an empire.From Delhi to Dhaka, Bahawalpur to Birmingham, the simple, earthy hodgepodge of rice, lentils and spices that is khichdi has been putting a smile on subcontinental faces for centuries.

It is strikingly nutritious for a comfort food, but millions of cheered-up devotees can't be wrong.

Khichdi ticks all three boxes on the comfort food scale -- it's tasty, is often served as a soothing “sick day” food and it conjures up strong memories of mom's home cooking.

Curry rice, Japan

A plateful of Japanese happiness.Whether you're talking to mopey sad sacks in India, Thailand or the United Kingdom, when it comes to comfort there's just something about curry. Perhaps its fragrant blend of spices provides bonus aromatherapy.

In Japan, the “curry rice” (as it’s called there) comfort phenomenon has completely pervaded collective consciousness; so much so, it’s commonly cited as the national dish.

It's so popular that curry roux is widely available in brick form so that busy people can simply dissolve it in a pot of water, vegetables and meat and let the magic spices do their thing.

Talk about your loving spoonful.

Koshary, Egypt

Koshary -- more Egyptian than the Sphinx.Carbohydrates figure in many comfort foods, perhaps because the energy they provide gives depression a much-needed kick in the pants.

Koshary -- the food of the Egyptian masses -- is a carbohydrate bomb, loaded with lentils, fried onions, short pasta, vinegar and shatta, a tomato chili sauce.

Koshary is made in the home or sold on the streets by fiercely competitive vendors.

Have you ever tried to eat koshary while crying? It's not easy. But it feels so good.